Officially, Kansas University’s men’s basketball team has added just one scholarship player to the roster this season freshman guard-forward Bryant Nash.
Rest assured, however, there will be more than one new player to assess at the season-opening Late Night With Roy Williams.
At least two walk-ons will join the program for the 2000-2001 season.
Invited walk-ons Mario Kinsey and Chris Zerbe have already accepted spots on the team. And there’s strong possibility Zerbe’s Hutch CC teammate point guard Brett Ballard will join the squad following October walk-on tryouts.
Nash, a 6-6 guard-forward from Carrollton, Texas, signed a scholarship agreement with Kansas last April, after the Jayhawks dropped Travon Bryant as a recruit and learned signee DeShawn Stevenson was headed to the NBA.
Nash was recruited early by Florida and Texas A&M and ultimately chose the Jayhawks over Memphis.
“He has tremendously long arms and is a very good jumper,” KU coach Williams said of Nash who averaged 15 points, 10 boards and four blocks in leading Turner High to a 25-8 record last year.
“He’ll probably jump in the vicinity of where Kenny (Gregory) jumps. That athleticism will help us. I would expect we’ll have nobody on our team who can run anywhere near as fast as Bryant runs. Kenny’s probably the fastest on our team right now, but I’ve got to think Bryant will be right there with him.”
Nash played pivot in high school.
“He was an intimidating factor on the high school level,” Turner High coach Mark Bishop said. “He averaged four blocks a game. He really helped us on the defensive end. He has tremendously long arms.”
To go with his quick feet.
“He does not yet have the bulk or strength,” Bishop said. “That’s what he’ll need to work on along with dribbling and some other things.”
Nash said he didn’t know if he’d red-shirt his rookie season. His athleticism could find him a spot on the court right away.
“My strengths at this point are driving to the hole and rebounding,” Nash said. “I’m pretty good on the boards. I know that moving from the inside to the perimeter is going to take a lot of hard work on my part and I’m ready for that. From my coach’s point of view, I have to learn to shoot off the dribble. I think he’s right, too. I’m pretty good at the catch and shoot, but I’m not accustomed to shooting off the dribble.”
Nash is happy he chose the Jayhawks.
“I really like the players and coaches at Kansas,” he said. “It’s a real nice campus, very pretty. I got to hang out with Drew Gooden on the first night of my visit. We went to the dorm, watched TV and joked around. I just like the place. I feel comfortable there. One person told me to get better you have to play against people better than you. That was a key factor in my decision.”
Chris Zerbe, 6-5, Hutchinson CC: Zerbe, a standout prep player at Andover High, realizes minutes will be hard to come by at KU.
Yet … “I go by the slogan, ‘Never say never,”‘ the 230-pound Zerbe said. “Coach (Roy) Williams said straight up it’ll be very, very hard to get in games. If I go and bust my butt, maybe he’ll put me in a game or two and I can prove I can play.
“Playing at Kansas is the dream of every kid. This is my wildest dream come true.”
Zerbe averaged 13 points and six boards while playing in all 32 games his soph year at Hutch CC. He shot 54 percent from the field and 64 percent from the line.
Zerbe hit 13 of 30 threes and led the Blue Dragons to a 22-10 record.
“He has an extremely low center of gravity. He posts up and uses his body as well or better than anybody I’ve ever been around,” HCC coach Tim Duryea said. “Once he catches the ball under the basket, he’s almost ambidextrous in being able to use either hand to put it in the basket.”
Zerbe exploded for 27 points in a season-ending loss to Independence CC after scoring 28 the game before against Cowley County.
He chose KU over Centenary, Stephen F. Austin and Wisconsin-Green Bay. Wichita State also wanted Zerbe to walk on.
Mario Kinsey, 6-2, Waco, Texas: Kinsey accepted a football scholarship offer with KU after throwing for 2,003 yards and 25 touchdowns for 8-3 LaVega High. He will red-shirt his first season in football and join the basketball team on the first day of practice.
“I like both sports the same. I always have,” said Kinsey, whose idol growing up was Florida State QB-basketball player Charlie Ward, now a member of the New York Knicks.
Kinsey, who chose Kansas over hometown school Baylor and Oklahoma State, saw his basketball stock skyrocket as the 1999-2000 season progressed. The tall playmaker averaged 16.3 points, 6.2 assists, 4.5 steals and 3.3 rebounds in pacing La Vega to a 34-4 record and the school’s first state championship.
“He’s good in whatever he wants to be. A lot of the kids call him, ‘Super Mario,” La Vega High basketball coach Kevin Gill said of Kinsey, also a standout baseball player and track athlete.
He is known for his athleticism.
“I like an up-tempo game. I like to drive to the hole and dish,” Kinsey said. “I think it will be an easy transition because they (Jayhawks) like to run with the ball, just like our high school team. I watched them on TV in the (NCAA) Tournament. I think I can bring something to the table.”
Kinsey’s ability to take the basketball to the goal impressed KU coach Williams.
“He has great athleticism. He has some gears,” Williams said. “On tape, he has some serious speed. It’s something we’d like to add to our team.”
KU football coach Terry Allen says in some ways Kinsey reminds him of a young Dylen Smith, KU’s senior QB.
“We like his athletic attributes, his ability to throw the football as well as his ‘escapability,”‘ Allen said of Kinsey’s ability to avoid the rush. “Mario is very elusive back there.”
